What to Expect

Before, During & After

Before

Before an individual can begin receiving hospice care, a referral must be made. Referrals are made by family, friends, clergy, physicians, and staff at health care facilities. Potential patients may also call Niagara Hospice themselves. When a referral is made, a Niagara Hospice representative will gather basic information from the individual by phone, and then offer a home visit by an intake representative to fully explain the hospice program. With their consent, Niagara Hospice will contact their physician to obtain medical information and to update their physician on the referral.

If a person is found to be appropriate for hospice care after an initial confidential consultation and assessment, a physician order is requested for admission into the program. If you think hospice care may be right for you or a loved one, simply call (716) 439-4417 and Niagara Hospice will do the rest.

During

Individuals receive hospice care in their own home, a caregiver's home or in a nursing home, assisted living facility or adult home. Wherever a person calls home during the hospice experience, the primary goals of the hospice team are to alleviate physical pain, provide symptom control and to support the patient's caregivers and primary physician. Our purpose is to make this stage of a patient's life, and that
of their loved ones, better than if we weren't there - to act as a guide and support system throughout the illness. A better way to live... that's the Niagara Hospice difference.

After

The time following the death of a loved one can be very difficult and overwhelming. One very important service of Niagara Hospice that is unique from other health care providers is our bereavement care. Professional counselors are available to provide support for family members for up to 13 months following the death of their loved one. The Niagara Hospice Bereavement Department offers grief support to
families in a variety of ways including supportive telephone calls and mailings, individual and family grief counseling, bereavement workshops and groups for adults, Camp Hope for children, and memorial events throughout the year.